The Time It Takes
by Menolly Mark
Summary: Oneshot. After the funeral in HBP, Lupin seeks out Harry, but finds Hermione instead. Light RemusxHermione. 3 in my RxHr arc.


**Author's Note: **This can be read in conjunction with my other two Hermione/Remus one-shots, **Fearless**, and **A Woman's Touch.** Would anyone be interested in seeing a chaptered fic based around these one-shots? After all, I have two months before the next book comes out and everything I write after HBP becomes AU. Alas. Please, let me know if you would.

- Menolly

**The Time It Takes**

By Menolly Mark

As the funeral came to an end, Remus Lupin craned his neck over the crowd, trying to see around the multitudes of sobbing witches and stony-faced wizards, hoping to get a glimpse of Harry Potter. He hadn't had a chance to talk to the boy since the tragedy, and he felt as though he owed Harry that much. He'd be somewhere with Ginny, and Ron…and with Hermione, Lupin knew.

A loud sniff from somewhere near his left side distracted Lupin temporarily. Turning, he found Tonks, still sitting, slumped over on her chair, her eyes streaming anew with tears. She'd let go of his hand, but she kept looking mournfully at it, as though it alone was the cause of her grief, and Dumbledore's recent demise was only an afterthought.

Lupin laid his other hand comfortingly on her shoulder, even as he continued to scan the crowd. Tonks' sobs didn't abate, and she stood up to join him. "Who are you looking for?" she asked, stifling a sniffle.

"Harry," replied Lupin. "I want to know if he's all right. Dumbledore was very close to him, and I think he was very attached to the man as well." We all were, in a way, he thought.

"Yeah," muttered Tonks, "that's a good idea. I think I saw him heading off towards the Great Hall. Probably going to go and get his things together. Bet you'll find him there, I'll go with you."

She made as if to start towards the Great Hall, but Lupin held her back, shaking his head. "I think," he said, very gently, "that I should probably go and find him alone. I'd like to speak to him…just the two of us. You understand?"

"Oh," said Tonks, looking even glummer than she had before. "Yeah, of course. I'll meet you at Hagrid's after, then, shall I?" She smiled unconvincingly, and moved off through the crowd, bumping awkwardly into witches and wizards as she went. Lupin saw Molly Weasley stop her, and engulf her in a huge hug before he turned around again and began to stride towards the entrance to the school.

Harry wasn't in the common room. Nor in fact, was anyone else. The entire place was completely deserted, as if no one felt comfortable lingering in the room where the departed Dumbledore had so often made speeches and jokes to the entire school. Lupin continued on through the school, heading for Gryffindor tower. It seemed unlikely that he'd find Harry there, as the boy would no doubt want very much to be alone. Still, it couldn't hurt to try.

Gryffindor common room, unlike the Great Hall, was full of somber-looking students. Most of them weren't speaking, but were just gazing unhappily at the fireplace, or playing half-hearted, silent games of gobstones on the floor. In one corner of the room, Ron Weasley was polishing his broom-handle so forcefully that it looked as though the wood might snap in two. There was no sign, however, of Harry.

"He's up in the boys dormitory," murmured a hoarse voice. He turned to find Hermione Granger standing beside him, her long hair tousled and dotted with teardrops. "I don't think he wants anyone to bother him for the moment, but I suppose you're different. You can probably go up."

Lupin shook his head. "If he wants to be left alone, I'll respect his wishes," he said.

Hermione nodded. "That's probably best. He's taking it very hard, of course."

Lupin thought that Hermione looked as if she was taking it rather hard herself. "And how are you?" he asked, attempting a smile. "Are you holding up all right?"

"Oh, yes." Hermione dismissed that concern with an impatient wave of her hand. "Yes, I'm fine. I just…" Biting her lip, she wrung her hands expressively, glancing furtively up at the entrance to the boys dormitory. "I hate it when he's like this. Harry's gone through so much, one would think that he'd deserve a moment's peace. It's been really awful for him, and I wish there was something, anything I could do. But that's really stupid, because there isn't, and I'm not being very useful, standing here feeling sorry for him. He wouldn't like that."

"I know exactly what you mean," replied Lupin, with a shrug. "Sometimes I wish that we could bear the burdens for our friends, too. But you've said it yourself. We can't. Besides," and he squeezed her shoulder reassuringly, "you and Ron have been through plenty of pain yourselves. I don't know where Harry would be without you."

"But it hasn't helped," whispered Hermione fiercely. "It hasn't made it any better for him."

"I beg to differ," murmured Lupin firmly.

Hermione smiled absently at him. "You're a very kind person, Professor. Maybe you should go up and talk to Harry after all. You might be the only one who can bring him around. Even Ginny's not having any luck with him.

"Hermione," said Lupin, raising an eyebrow. "I'm really not your teacher anymore. You don't have to keep calling me 'Professor.'"

Hermione threw up one hand in a gesture of helplessness. "I know that," she insisted. "But I can't help it. You're a very commanding presence, I'll always think of you as Professor Lupin. You were, after all, the best teacher that we've ever ad in Defense Against the Dark Arts, but I think I've told you that before."

Lupin remembered her telling him that very well, in her third year at Hogwarts. The recollection brought a smile unbidden to his lips, and Hermione laughed, very softly.

"There," she said, "I think that's the first time I've seen you really smile since you got to school…Professor." She put an emphasis on the final word, and Lupin felt a warmth begin to rise all over his body. He swallowed hard against the feeling, wondering why, in the face of all of the gravity of the situation, he suddenly felt so light.

"How's Tonks doing?" asked Hermione, in such a sweetly innocent voice that Lupin snapped abruptly out of his unwanted reverie. She certainly didn't look as though she meant anything by the comment, but Lupin knew better than to think she didn't understand the situation between Tonks and himself.

"She's well," he said, "or at least, as well as can be expected. Tonks is an auror, she's going to have to get used to the feeling of loss."

Hermione frowned. "I hope she doesn't have to do anything of the sort," she said thoughtfully.

"You're not naïve enough to think that there won't be...a need for that sort of mindset," Lupin began. "Tonks is a member of the Order of the Phoenix, an organization formed to fight Voldemort. She needs to understand that there will be tragedies. That's inevitable. We're at war."

"Well," insisted Hermione quietly, "I'll never get used to it, and I think that Harry, Ron and I have been through more than many members of the Order."

The warmth in Lupin's heart faded, and a cold, solid lump took it's place, as he gritted his teeth against the memories that those words brought about. "Not all of us as are inexperienced with loss at Tonks is," he reminded her.

Hermione stared at him for a moment, her mouth slightly open, looking crestfallen. "I didn't mean that," she stammered. "You know I didn't mean to imply that you…that…anyone hadn't been through enough. I'm…I'm sorry. That was so callous of me."

It wasn't callous, thought Lupin. He regretted letting her see just how much those words had hurt him. She was just a girl, after all, and she hadn't meant anything by the comment other than to let him know that she understood loss. But he understood better than she ever could, he decided. Hermione would never know what it was like to lose all of her friends, to the last man standing in the face of the second war. And how, he asked himself, somewhat appalled, could he possibly want her to understand? How could he want someone like Hermione to experience something like that?

"Never mind," he said, shaken. "It's been a very long few days for everyone."

Hermione, apparently too chastened by her slip of the tongue, said nothing. Lupin wished he hadn't made her feel so guilty. She looked very pretty, with that faraway look on her face, even with tears still lingering in the corners of her eyes. Perversely, he had a very strong urge to put his fingers in her hair, to help comb those teardrops out of it. He buried his hands in the pockets of his robes, clenching his fists against his waist.

"I wish it would all be over," Hermione whispered suddenly. "I wish it would end and we could all be happy again."

"It will be," Lupin assured her. "In time, it will be over, and it will be worth it, no matter how long it takes."

She looked up at him, hopeful, beseeching, uncertain, and he reached out to her despite himself, closing one hand on her shoulder and feeling the skin of her neck beneath his fingers as he did so. Tonks was waiting for him at Hagrid's he reminded himself, and he hated the fact that he didn't care.

At that moment, Lupin heard footsteps behind him, echoing audibly in the silence of the room. He quickly released Hermione, and she turned away from him, so that he couldn't see the expression on her face. He wanted to know what she was thinking, but-

"Hi," said Harry, coming up behind him. Lupin looked at him. Surprisingly, Harry looked all right. Although his eyes were bloodshot and her face was hardly a healthy color, there was a light in Harry's eyes that Lupin hadn't expected. He really did look a great deal like James, Lupin decided. Harry had that fierce, determined calm about him now that Lupin had so often seen from James, when he, James, Sirius and Peter were in a dire or dangerous situation. It was a look that commanded respect, and, at the same time, a sense of pity.

"Harry," said Lupin. "I've been waiting for you."

"Thanks," said Harry simply. "That's good of you."

Out of the corner of his eye, Lupin saw Hermione moving away from them to join Ron in the far corner of the room. She sat down next to him, and said something in a low whisper, before wrapping one arm around dhis shoulders in an intimate way that made Lupin's stomach turn. That wasn't fair, he told himself forcefully. Tonks was waiting for him outside ,and Ron was waiting for Hermione.

"I wanted to talk to you," he said, speaking around his thoughts. "That is, if you have a moment."

Harry nodded. Together, they started for the door to the common room. Harry stepped outside, but Lupin lingered for a moment, trying not to watch as Hermione leaned in to whisper something, a bit too close to Ron's ear.

No matter how long it takes, he thought to himself, they would be happy again. Then, looking away, he followed Harry out of the common room, and into the hall.


End file.
